Primary Reference Standard Definition. Primary reference standards a reference standard for a unit of measurement is an artifact that embodies the quantity of interest in a way that ties its value to the reference base. A reagent is a chemical used to cause a chemical reaction with another substance.
Primary reference standards are designated substances that are widely acknowledged to have the appropriate qualities within a specified context. At the highest level a primary reference standard is assigned a value by direct comparison with the reference base. Standards are the fundamental reference for a system of weights and measures against which all other measuring devices are compared.
In the european pharmacopoeia reference standard is used as a general term covering reference substances reference preparations and reference spectra and primary standard is a standard shown to have suitable properties for the intended use the demonstration of suitability being made without comparison to an existing standard.
Historical standards for length volume and mass were defined by many different authorities which resulted in confusion and inaccuracy of measurements. The impurities if any should be identified and controlled for use in assay studies. In chemistry a primary standard is a reagent that is very pure representative of the number of moles the substance contains and easily weighed. Often reagents are used to test for the presence or quantity of specific chemicals in a solution.
